2022/23 Co-Ord Round-up Part Eight - 1st-4th

1st: Fred West Landscape Gardening XI (up 11 places on last season)

Fred got the final day win to give him his highest points total and equal his own fewest defeats record. With just one defeat since league 10 he’s made it look emphatic. Taiwo Awoniyi, Bruno Fernandes and Jakub Kiwior got the goals and should all be around next year as the spine to the team. That’s four titles in the last seven seasons but he does seem to take a year off after winning which gives the rest of us some hope.

Star Player? Mohamed Salah (17 goals) for the sixth year in a row

What happened to last year's Star Player? See above

2nd: The Cow-Faced Juniors (up three)

Despite being best of the rest I got the feeling that Chris was never convinced his team were quite good enough to take the title. A 2-1 defeat to Trusted on the final day meant it was a mere five points from the last six games which backed that thought up. Question marks over Rodrigo’s future add to his forward conundrum going into the summer. 

Star Player? Gabriel (three goals, 13 cleans) made it back-to-back wins.

What happened to last year's Star Player? See above

3rd: The Fabulous Artisans (down one)

A poor run over the winter stopped Ben getting into the title shake-up. He finished with a 2-1 win at SGU to seal third (seven wins and two draws in his last nine games) and add that to his FA Cup win. Evan Ferguson looks a good signing for the future and he’ll expect to be thereabouts again.

Star Player? Martin Odegaard (14 goals) was the game's top midfielder this year.

What happened to last year's Star Player? Injury and loss of form diminished Mason Mount's impact.

4th: The Wateringhole Society (down three)

Kiran's team had an unlucky run in October/November where they scored nine times in four games and only had three points to show for it. The chase eventually ran out of steam with six defeats in the last two months. Counters for Cody Gakpo and Jan Paul van Hecke in their final day win over Nil Satis shows the boss still has an eye for a player.

Star Player? Ivan Toney (17 goals) might not win this next year.

What happened to last year's Star Player? Nine counters for Ruben Dias didn't get him close to a repeat.

2022/23 Co-Ord Round-up Part Seven - 5th-8th

5th: Trusted By Miilions (down one place on last season)

Beef's last day win saw his team finish fifth to go alongside his FA Cup final defeat. He’ll be rueing injuries to Luis Diaz, Gabriel Jesus and record-signing Alexander Isak but even with those players fit he might need a bit more to get back in the title picture.

Star Player? David de Gea (14 clean sheets, one saved penalty) wins for the first time in ten seasons.

What happened to last year's Star Player? A double-figure return from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

6th: Markian United (up eight)

Despite finishing no higher than 14th in the last four seasons Ian assured me he was after a top half finish before we got under way this season. Sixth (and two semi-finals) is a great return and ahe’ll be satisfied with his season’s work. Now for a summer trying to hang on to Harry Kane.

Star Player? For the eighth straight season was Harry Kane (31 goals).

What happened to last year's Star Player? See above.

7th: Stanley and Gracie United (same place)

Aaron fancied fourth but eventually finished five points short of that. An injury to Virgil van Dijk didn't help. Possible departures for Martial and Havertz plus a question mark over James Ward-Prowse’s future will give the SGU boss plenty to think about this summer.

Star Player? Kieran Trippier (two goals, 13 cleans) has been a great signing.

What happened to last year's Star Player? Van Dijk was not his usual authoritative self.

8th: Aardvark Abacus (up one)

Eighth place is a step up on last year for Ady but he’ll be wondering how Son Heung-min dropped from Golden Boot to just six goals all season. A Declan Rice sale would certainly top up the Aardvark war-chest ahead of next season.

Star Player? Ben White (two goals, 17 cleans) stepped up when Ady needed him.

What happened to last year's Star Player? Good question. What did happen to Son?

2022/23 Co-Ord Round-up Part Six - 9th-12th

9th: San Dimas High School (down one on last season)

My team had finished seventh or eighth in seven of the last eight seasons. That was already out of reach before the last day defeat. A Charity Shield and ninth this year looked the best possible outcome for a team with a solid defence but is still short of goals.

Star Player? Emiliano Martinez (12 cleans)

What happened to last year's Star Player? Antonio Rudiger was sold to Real Madrid.

10th: Real Muppets (up one)

The Muppets certainly weren’t short of goals from Erling Haaland who broke scoring records in his first season. Ryan landed the PCMT this season and looks to have one of the strongest starting XI’s but for whatever reason they’re not all clicking at the same time.

Star Player? Record signing, record breaking Erling Haaland (34 goals)

What happened to last year's Star Player? Reece James was unlucky with injury.

11th: Cheese Makers (down five)

Matthew's team made a shocking start to the season, waiting until week 10 for a first win. Their last day  victory rounded off a great end to the campaign, unbeaten in the last seven games. Matthew will be hoping his squad isn’t too disrupted by transfers this summer and he can kick on.

Star Player? Tyrone Mings (two goals, nine cleans)

What happened to last year's Star Player? Solid but unspectacular from Andrew Robertson.

12th: Wheel Madrid (up three)

Paul W seemed to be ‘on the beach’ a bit early this season. Over the last 11 weeks his team only picked up seven counters but still managed to turn that into seven points. Plenty of work to do on the squad this summer to repeat the decent early season form.

Star Player? Raphael Varane (one goal, 12 cleans)

What happened to last year's Star Player? Not such a great season from Thiago Silva.

2022/23 Co-Ord Round-up Part Five - 13th-16th

My annual assessment of the WSFFL teams starts with the bottom four.

13th: YTFIB (up three on last season)

A season where Julian never really looked like finishing bottom! There were also rare sightings of a five-goal win and a five-game unbeaten run. Looks to have made a great signing with Julio Enciso but won't enjoy the Ilkay Gundogan transfer rumours.

Star Player? Nick Pope (14 cleans, two saved penalties) for the fourth time in six years.

What happened to last year's Star Player? It was another good season from Gundogan.

14th: Nil Satis Nisi Optimum (down one)

Very similar to last year. Good first half of the season, then missing in action after January, Paul S's team winning only one game in the second half of the campaign.  Just one top ten finish in 13 seasons tells a story. At least he has some players for next season!

Star Player? Jose Sa (13 cleans, two saved penalties) for the second season running.

What happened to last year's Star Player? See above!

15th: Mega Buck Bandits (down four)

Dave's team bounced between the bottom two places for two thirds of the season but a big last day win kept him off the bottom when the music stopped. Investment on Antony hasn’t paid off yet and Dave might need a Wilf Zaha replacement next season too.

Star Player? Nathan Ake (10 cleans)

What happened to last year's Star Player? Alisson wasn't quite so solid between the Bandits' sticks this year.

16th: Claymore Athletic FC (down 13 places)

Clive takes bottom spot for the first time. The last four seasons have gone 3rd, 15th, 3rd, 16th! Undoubtedly missed Mitrovic during spells of injury and suspension but maybe the ’Tinkerman’ approach (55 transfers!) played a part in just two wins in the second half of the season.

Star Player? Aleksandar Mitrovic (14 goals)

What happened to last year's Star Player? Got grumpy, got sold. Yes, it was CR7!

2022/23 Co-Ord Round-up Part Four - the Value for Money (counters per £m) table

Same as before but with counters this time.

	Team	P	Pts	Wage Bill (£m)	cts per £m
1	YTFIB	30	32	2.50275	27.17
2	The Fabulous Artisans	30	53	6.1965	17.11
3	San Dimas High School	30	40	5.2725	15.36
4	The Wateringhole Society	30	52	7.74825	14.84
5	Aardvark Abacus	30	46	5.718	14.52
6	Mega Buck Bandits	30	27	4.4655	13.88
7	Cheese Makers	30	34	5.5125	13.61
8	Stanley and Gracie United	30	47	6.42975	12.29
9	The Cow-Faced Juniors	30	59	9.11175	11.85
10	Claymore Athletic FC	30	27	6.0015	11.66
11	Trusted By Millions	30	47	8.55825	11.22
12	Nil Satis Nisi Optimum	30	29	4.638	11.21
13	Markian United	30	47	8.643	11.11
14	Fred West Landscape Gardening XI	30	67	10.7505	10.70
15	Real Muppets	30	36	9.6285	9.04
16	Wheel Madrid	30	34	11.19	4.02

A runaway win for Julian this season. 

The three teams with the highest wage bills occupy the bottom three spaces in the table. The teams that won the Charity Shield and the FA Cup are in the top three of this table, the League and PCMT winners are in the bottom three so perhaps this doesn't mean anything!

2022/23 Co-Ord Round-up Part Three - the Value for Money (pts per £m) table

Wage spend dropped by one and a quarter per cent this season, but there were a number of high value players loaned out. It was an equal split between teams paying less and paying more. 

	Team	P	Pts	Wage Bill (£m)	Pts per £m
1	YTFIB	30	32	2.50275	12.79
2	The Fabulous Artisans	30	53	6.1965	8.55
3	Aardvark Abacus	30	46	5.718	8.04
4	San Dimas High School	30	40	5.2725	7.59
5	Stanley and Gracie United	30	47	6.42975	7.31
6	The Wateringhole Society	30	52	7.74825	6.71
7	The Cow-Faced Juniors	30	59	9.11175	6.48
8	Nil Satis Nisi Optimum	30	29	4.638	6.25
9	Fred West Landscape Gardening XI	30	67	10.7505	6.23
10	Cheese Makers	30	34	5.5125	6.17
11	Mega Buck Bandits	30	27	4.4655	6.05
12	Trusted By Millions	30	47	8.55825	5.49
13	Markian United	30	47	8.643	5.44
14	Claymore Athletic FC	30	27	6.0015	4.50
15	Real Muppets	30	36	9.6285	3.74
16	Wheel Madrid	30	34	11.19	3.04

Julian and Ben are often toward the top of this table and it's the same this time. Our champions slotted into mid-table while the Haaland-inspired Muppets and Wheel Madrid didn't get much for their money.

2022/23 Co-Ord Round-up Part Two - The 'counters' tables

Here's the table if that was all that mattered in the game was positive 'counters'. Don't worry it won't be. (Well, not on my watch!)

=1. Fred West LG XI - 115 (same place as real table, 40 more than last year)

=1. The Wateringhole Society -115 (three places higher, 16 more)

3. The Cow-Faced Juniors - 108 (one place lower, two more)

4. The Fabulous Artisans - 106 (one place lower, 13 more)

=5. Trusted By Millions - 96 (same place, 13 fewer)

=5. Markian United - 96 (up one place, 35 more)

7. Real Muppets - 87 (three places higher, two more)

8. Aardvark Abacus - 83 (same place, one more)

9. San Dimas High School - 81 (same place, 11 fewer)

10. Stanley and Gracie Utd - 79 (three places lower, 22 fewer)

11. Cheese Makers - 75 (same place, 18 fewer)

12. Claymore Athletic FC - 70 (four places higher, 32 fewer)

13. YTFIB - 68 (same place, 27 more)

14. Mega Buck Bandits - 62 (one place higher, 14 fewer)

15. Nil Satis Nisi Optimum - 52 (one place lower, same as last year)

16. Wheel Madrid - 45 (four places lower, 27 fewer)

Huge increases on last year for Fred, Julian and Ian. Claymore, Wheels and SGU totals going big in the wrong direction.

The Wateringhole picked up 16 more cleans then when they won the league last year yet finished fourth this time round. Funny old game!

Counters against is possibly a decent indicator of luck in the game. Here's this year's list...

1. Fred West LG XI - 69

2. The Cow-Faced Juniors - 75

3. Wheel Madrid - 76

4. Nil Satis Nisi Optimum - 79

5. Mega Buck Bandits - 80

6. Trusted By Millions - 81

7. Aardvark Abacus - 82

8. Stanley and Gracie Utd - 83

9. Cheese Makers - 84

10. Markian United - 86

=11. The Fabulous Artisans - 88

=11. Real Muppets - 88

13. The Wateringhole Society - 90

=14. YTFIB - 92

=15. Claymore Athletic FC - 92

16. San Dimas High School - 93

If you're going to score the most and concede the fewest then the title is likely to come your way. Average was around 84 this year so nobody was massively inconvenienced in the against column.

2022/23 - English Team of the Season

(Same rules as before but English players only.)

GK - Nick Pope (YTFIB)

DEF - Ben White (Aardvark Abacus), Kieran Trippier (Stanley and Gracie), Luke Shaw (Markian United), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Trusted By Millions)

MID - Harvey Barnes (The Wateringhole Society), James Maddison (Wheel Madrid), Phil Foden (Real Muppets), Eberechi Eze* (The Cow-Faced Juniors)

ATT - Harry Kane (Markian), Ivan Toney (Wateringhole)

Subs - Aaron Ramsdale (Artisans); Max Kilman (The CFJs); Bukayo Saka* (Wateringhole); Ollie Watkins (Aardvarks)

Not a bad line-up. Short on central defence and midfield and Ivan Toney won't be available for a while but I'd watch this lot. 

Better than last year's?

*Eze and Saka are interchangeable as they are tied on eight goals.

2022/23 - £500k Team of the Season

(More of the same but with players from the bargain basement.)

GK - Nick Pope (YTFIB)

DEF - Ben White (Aardvark Abacus), Kieran Trippier (Stanley and Gracie), Luke Shaw (Markian United), Jeff Schlupp (Trusted By Millions)

MID - Martin Odegaard, Alexis Mac Allister (both The Fabulous Artisans), Harvey Barnes (The Wateringhole Society), Phil Foden (Real Muppets)

ATT - Harry Kane (Markian), Marcus Rashford (Wateringhole)

Subs - Emiliano Martinez (San Dimas); Trent Alexander-Arnold (Trusted); Bukayo Saka (Wateringhole); Kelechi Iheanacho (Muppets)

Definitely more counters from this selection than last year's but cheap, excellent strikers seem to be a thing of the past.

2022/23 Awards - Team of the Season

(All awards are made on basis of contributions in all WSFFL competitions. Where there is a tie, contributions in league matches take precedence. Then I'll try to separate them by goals scored. Then by lower transfer fee or number of Elton John songs downloaded. If you see two or more names in a position I still couldn't split them.)

GK - Nick Pope (YTFIB)

DEF - Ben White (Aardvark Abacus), Gabriel (The CFJs), Kieran Trippier (Stanley and Gracie), Luke Shaw (Markian United)

MID - Martin Odegaard, Alexis Mac Allister (both Fabulous Artisans), Harvey Barnes (The Wateringhole Society), Gabriel Martinelli (FW LG XI)

ATT - Erling Haaland (Real Muppets), Harry Kane (Markian)

Subs - David De Gea (Trusted); Rafael Varane (Wheel Madrid); Miguel Almiron (CFJs); Ivan Toney (Wateringhole)

It's a fifth appearance in the Team of the Season for Kane, only John Terry and Frank Lampard have more.

Gabriel is the only player to keep his place from last year. It's the third sub appearance for David De Gea.

2022/23 - Players of the Season

(Awards are made on basis of contributions, 'counters', in all WSFFL competitions. Where there is a tie, contributions in league matches take precedence.)

Player of the Season, Golden Boot, Attacker of the Season, Young Player of the Season and Signing of the Season

Erling Haaland (Real Muppets) - 34 goals

The record WSFFL signing starts to repay his fee. While he couldn't get Ryan's team close in the league this season his seven goals in the PCMT played a big part in his team lifting that trophy.  There's more to come I'm sure.

Golden Gloves

Nick Pope (YTFIB) - 14 clean sheets, two saved penalties

A first win in this category for Pope who was Julian's star player this season. One of the main reasons why YTFIB never looked like assuming their usual bottom place this season.

Defender of the Season

Ben White (Aardvark Abacus) - Two goals, seventeen clean sheets

The Aardvarks could only finish eighth but White certainly did his bit for Ady's team. It was at the other end of the pitch where the five-time champions needed more help.

Midfielder of the Season

Martin Odegaard (The Fabulous Artisans) - Fourteen goals

A classy player with a penchant for goals from outside the area has come good this season. Ben will look to build a title challenge around him.

£500k Player of the Season

Harry Kane (Markian United) - 31 goals

For the fifth time. How many more times though?

2022/23 Co-Ord Round-up Part One - Transfer Dealings

I'll start with the fact our squad values at the end of the season totalled FF£2.6bn, up £100m on last season and a new record.

Last year I asked if were back to our spend, spend, spend days. The Expenditure section will answer that question but first...

Income

With £737m paid for our players it was a big season on the income front. The third biggest in fact, only behind 2017/18 and 2019/20 since records began at the end of the 2006/07 season.

Three teams brought in nearly half of that between them, three others combined to make sales of less than £15m.

Expenditure

[New record klaxon!] We manage to spend £962m on players between this season. That beats the previous record of £831m set in 2017/18.

Two teams spent more than £100m this season and three more over £80m. At the other end of the scale, four teams spent less than £30m on additions to their squad.

Overall

All that added up to a £224m loss on the season. That's the third biggest seasonal loss but a long way behind the £453m in 2020/21.

Only two teams had a deficit of more than £35m which suggests the spending was largely sensible. Four teams made a profit on transfers this season but none of those exceeded £20m.

So what's next - the first billion pound spend season? One thing that will happen is us going through the £10bn spent barrier. OucH!

(Bear in mind that these figures might be wrong. But they won't be wrong by much. Hardly at all in fact.)

Team counter records

Another list to keep up. Which teams have hit 100+ counters in a season? (Records only go back to 2012/13 here.)

125 - Aardvark Abacus (1st 2023/24)

121 - Claymore Athletic FC (1st 2015/16)

118 - Fred West LG XI (2nd 2017/18)

118 - Trusted By Millions (4th 2023/24)

117 - Fred West LG XI (1st 2018/19)

116 - The Cow-Faced Juniors (4th 2016/17)

115 - Fred West LG XI (1st 2022/23)

115 - The Wateringhole Society (4th 2022/23)

113 - The Wateringhole Society (6th 2020/21)

113 - Claymore Athletic FC (2014/15)

113 - The Cow-Faced Juniors (1st 2012/13)

109 - Trusted By Millions (4th 2021/22)

109 - Claymore Athletic FC (3rd 2019/20)

109 - Fred West LG XI (1st 2016/17)

109 - Claymore Athletic FC (2nd 2013/14)

109 - The Fabulous Artisans (9th 2013/14)

108 - The Cow-Faced Juniors (2nd 2022/23)

108 - Athletico Phoenix (3rd 2012/13)

107 - Claymore Athletic FC (2nd 2012/13)

106 - The Fabulous Artisans (3rd 2022/23)

106 - The Cow-Faced Juniors (5th 2021/22)

106 - The Cow-Faced Juniors (1st 2017/18)

106 - Fred West LG XI (2nd 2014/15

105 - Trusted By Millions (1st 2019/20)

104 - Aardvark Abacus (3rd 2017/18)

104 - Real Muppets (4th 2017/18)

104 - Trusted By Millions (1st 2013/14)

104 - The Cow-Faced Juniors (3rd 2013/14)

102 - Claymore Athletic FC (3rd 2021/22)

101 - Stanley Athletic FC (7th 2021/22)

101 - Real Muppets (7th 2020/21)

101 - Stanley Athletic FC (2nd 2019/20)

101 - Real Muppets (6th 2019/20)

100 - Fred West LG XI (1st 2020/21)

And what about 100+ against?

104 - YTFIB (16th 2023/24)

102 - Claymore Athletic FC (15th 2020/21)

101 - Stanley Athletic FC (7th 2021/22)

100 - Athletico Phoenix (13th 2013/14)

Let's have a list by team then...

125 - Aardvark Abacus (1st 2023/24)

121 - Claymore Athletic FC (1st 2015/16)

118 - Fred West LG XI (2nd 2017/18)

118 - Trusted By Millions (4th 2023/24)

116 - The Cow-Faced Juniors (4th 2016/17)

115 - The Wateringhole Society (4th 2022/23)

109 - The Fabulous Artisans (9th 2013/14)

108 - Athletico Phoenix (3rd 2012/13)

104 - Real Muppets (4th 2017/18)

101 - Stanley Athletic FC (7th 2021/22)

99 - San Dimas High School (8th 2016/17)

96 - Markian United (6th 2022/23)

93 - Cheese Makers (6th 2021/22)

93 - You Know Your Boston Rock FC (10th 2012/13)

91 - Wheel Madrid (10th 2018/19)

91 - Nil Satis Nisi Optimum (7th 2018/19)

86 - FCK2 (7th 2014/15)

84 - Mega Buck Bandits (7th 2019/20)

78 - YTFIB (9th 2019/20)

71 - Final Fantasy XI (5th 2012/13)

66 - The Dead Parrots (14th 2013/14)

Overall table updated

Why do this? Why not?

Fred and the Artisans move up a place for what it's worth.

	The Combined WSFFL League Table
	Seasons 2001-2023
	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Aardvark Abacus	660	360	112	188	1494	1026	468	1192
2	Trusted By Millions	660	333	112	215	1419	1101	318	1111
3	FW LG XI	660	319	128	213	1471	1130	341	1085
4	Claymore Athletic FC	660	319	118	223	1506	1201	305	1075
5	The Cow-Faced Juniors (1)	660	316	118	226	1390	1132	258	1066
6	The Fabulous Artisans (2)	660	303	106	251	1250	1190	60	1015
7	Real Muppets	660	295	129	236	1331	1150	181	1014
8	Markian United (8)	660	282	122	256	1304	1196	108	968
9	San Dimas High School	660	276	123	261	1200	1222	-22	951
10	Stanley Athletic FC (3)	660	251	117	292	1095	1266	-171	870
11	Cheese Makers (6)	660	245	129	286	1038	1184	-146	864
12	The Wateringhole Society (5)	660	233	120	307	1063	1250	-187	819
13	Mega Buck Bandits	660	222	121	317	981	1190	-209	787
14	Wheel Madrid (4)	660	208	124	328	971	1301	-330	748
15	Nil Satis Nisi Optimum	660	198	115	347	912	1267	-355	709
16	YTFIB (7)	660	166	114	380	761	1380	-619	612
	TOTAL	10560	4326	1908	4326	19186	19186	0	14886

(1) includes results from Kylie Bumcheeks and Eleven Imaginary Boys

(2) includes results from Prettier Than You and SCP Marmosets

(3) includes results from Viola's Pier, Thommo's Titans, Melwood FC, Dynamo Kev and Athletico Phoenix

(4) includes results from Short Straw Rovers and Final Fantasy XI

(5) includes results from Elland Road Big Boys and The Dead Parrots

(6) includes results from 22-Legged Groove Machine and Bassett Allsorts

(7) formerly York's Returning Glory

(8) includes results from You Know Your Boston Rock FC and FCK2